Evidence map›Paper›PMID 38866033›Full record

ArticleFortschritte der Neurologie-Psychiatrie2025

[Pharmacological management of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorders (ADHD) by generalists and specialists in Germany: a secondary data analysis].

Thomas Grimmsmann, Wolfgang Himmel

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In one paragraph

Article in Fortschritte der Neurologie-Psychiatrie, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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3 · Its place in the literature

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4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

2 authors.

Thomas GrimmsmannReferat Arzneimittel und Methoden, Medizinischer Dienst Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Schwerin, Germany.ORCID 0000-0002-0886-6162
Wolfgang HimmelInstitut für Allgemeinmedizin, Universitätsmedizin Göttingen, Gottingen, Germany.ORCID 0000-0003-3523-5486

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundAttention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is one of the most common mental health disorders among children, and it is rapidly surging among adults as well. The aim of this study was to investigate the role of community neurologists and psychiatrists as well as general practitioners and paediatricians in prescribing ADHD medications in Germany and whether their role has changed over the 10-year period from 2008 and 2018.

methodsIn this secondary analysis of anonymized prescribing data, we calculated the absolute and relative frequencies of ADHD prescriptions by neurologists and psychiatrists, summarized as specialists, and family physicians and paediatricians, summarized as generalists, and how it has changed during the years 2008 to 2018.

resultsA total of 620 practices delivered data on 77,504 patients diagnosed with ADHD, 38% (29,396/77,504) of them had received a prescription for ADHD medicine at least once in the study period. Over time, we observed a shift from generalists to specialists. While 59% of patients received their prescription from a generalist and 41% from a specialist in 2008, there was reverse in the ratio in 2018: only 37% received their medication from a generalist and the vast majority (63%) from a specialist. This trend was particularly evident among adults: 58% of them received their ADHD medication from a specialist in 2008, but 80% in 2018. The proportion of children and adolescents who received their prescriptions from a specialist rose from 38% to 51% over the same period.

conclusionThere is a shift in drug prescription away from generalists to specialists, without any discussion of advantages or disadvantages so far. However, this would be desirable, not least because specialists alone may not have sufficient resources to care for all ADHD patients.

Indexed as

Attention Deficit Disorder with HyperactivityCentral Nervous System StimulantsGeneral PractitionersPractice Patterns, Physicians'AdolescentAdultChildChild, PreschoolDrug PrescriptionsFemaleGermanyHumansMaleMiddle AgedNeurologistsPediatriciansCentral Nervous System Stimulants

Identifiers

PMID38866033
PMCPMC12488264

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